Empowering
Women & Children
Despite Herculean efforts of women “to rise" as poetically described by Maya Angelou, women continue to suffer from social, political, religious, and economic subordination and deprivation. Their suffering crosses many intersections between culture, ethnicity, region, and religion resulting in a massive swath of suffering. All too often, the voices of these communities of women and their allies are suppressed and silenced such as those who protested after the murder of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian morality police. Women are still being denied basic human rights both in the U.S. and abroad. It is their struggles we hope to support, their voices we hope to broadcast. Like women, we are also interested in supporting children who are often even more disenfranchised given their lack of voice and agency.
Above banner photo courtesy of Humanitix
Impact
Partners
Meet the incredible organizations that we are supporting. Each is creating a meaningful impact in its own way. We hope you will spend time learning more about the ones that speak to you.
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The Afghan Future Fund is a partnership between Schmidt Futures and the Yalda Hakim Foundation and is a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. It was launched after the fall of Kabul in August 2021. Today, they are on a mission to empower talented Afghans to reach their full potential. They provide charitable and educational seed grants, support Afghan refugees and displaced students with scholarships, support entrepreneurship, and advance other socially and culturally significant efforts relating to democracy and human rights.
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Like so many Americans, we were incredibly moved by the devastating news that came out of Afghanistan in the days leading up to the withdrawal of American forces and the near-total collapse of the Afghan state in the years since. In keeping with the spirit of our desire to support long-term change, we were compelled by the opportunity to ensure some remarkable students were able to continue their post-secondary studies in safety outside of Afghanistan. The steadfast commitment these students have to return home and invest in a more hopeful and prosperous future for Afghanistan is nothing short of inspiring.
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They are a global human rights organization made up of lawyers and advocates who ensure reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights for the dignity, equality, health, and well-being of every person.
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As staunch believers in a women’s right to choose, we really admire the unwavering passion and commitment that this team has to protect this right here in the United States, and their work to support women’s reproductive health around the world. While this work requires advocates and providers of all kinds, we believe that the work happening in courtrooms across the country is vital to protecting, and expanding, these rights long-term.
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They are a coalition of over 30 child welfare systems across the country that surface and scale promising practices in the areas of foster family recruitment, licensing, placement, and retention, with a focus on kinship care.
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Over the past several years, we’ve learned a lot about the American foster system and the transformational impact that kinship care can have on a young person. When we heard about the work that Marina Nitze is doing through the Child Welfare Playbook, we were drawn to the highly collaborative, solutions-oriented approach she’s taking to improve each state’s systems by pulling on easy-to-implement best practices from other states – all with the goal of ensuring that 80%+ of children can be placed with kin in the next three years.
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They are a research and design lab for the social sector, working to transform child welfare. Led and guided by people who have been directly impacted by this system, they are a trusted partner across the national child welfare field. They work with government agencies, lawmakers, and providers, advocates, and foundations to drive novel, scalable solutions at the federal, state, and local levels.
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When we think about what systems in America urgently require change, few are more broken than the foster system. We were moved by a piece published in the fall of 2021 by Think of US’ founder, Sixto Cancel, and his own experiences within the foster system and the incredibly innovative, data-driven solutions he and his team are proposing that will connect vulnerable young people with their families instead of introducing them to this broken system.
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The mission of La Casa de las Madres is to respond to calls for help from domestic violence victims, of all ages, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They give survivors the tools to transform their lives. They seek to prevent future violence by educating the community and by redefining public perceptions about domestic violence.
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While most of our Impact Partners focus on long-term, systemic change, we recognize that for many women, their needs are a lot more immediate and urgent. Before they can plan for the future, they need a safe place to stay tonight.
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United For Iran advances civil liberties, human rights, and access to technology so that all Iranians, especially women, minorities, and other oppressed groups, can enjoy full political freedoms and civil liberties.
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Over the past year, we have been inspired by the courage of thousands of women and their allies who protested in the streets following the murder of Masha Amini in the summer of 2022. We wanted to find a way to support these efforts made even more challenging given the regime’s threat of persecution and death to protestors and the lack of access to communication and technology. When we learned about the herculean efforts of Firuzeh Mahmoudi and her team at United For Iran, we knew we had found the perfect partners in this work.
Explore Our Other Initiatives
Criminal Justice Innovation & Second Chance Employment
Bridging the Educational & Opportunity Gap
Supporting a Thriving Democracy
Protecting the Environment
Additional Impact Partners